At a glance across the country: Meatpacking plants closed at an unprecedented rate this year, accelerated by a number of factors such as rising livestock costs, workforce shortages, food safety violations and foodborne illnesses, and ongoing industry consolidation.

Here are some examples: of these and others:
The last couple of years have seen lots of these. It will be interesting to see what happens this year, especially with immigration “reform” looming on the horizon. Pretty certain: food prices will rise. A lot.